I may have mentioned this before, but one of my all-time favorite blogs is Ernie (Not Bert). Ernie posts something that is near and dear to my heart - Christmas music! What he does is to go to thrift stores and find used albums, (yes - those big, black round things that revolve at 33 1/3 rpms!), record them to his computer and then upload them to the internet so that anybody that wishes to can download them. How great is that? I have personally downloaded several albums that he has offered and play them frequently. If you're interested, be sure to cruise on over there, (after you've finished here, of course!) and see what he has to offer! He starts uploading them after Thanksgiving, so he's got his season started already. Here's that
link. Be sure to tell him that Kenny sent you over!
Well, I too love Christmas music. So much so that I usually record a Christmas CD each year to give out to my family and friends as a stocking stuffer gift. There have been around a dozen collections so far and I have loved recording each one. The great thing about doing it all yourself is that I not only get to sing all the voices and play all the instruments, I get to pick the songs! Of course, I pick all my favorite Christmas songs - from classic carols to modern pop hits. I even include some that I have personally composed on each CD. So, with no further ado, here is my most recent release, one from a couple years ago:
Sounds Of Christmas by Kenneth Dwain Harrelson.
In case you're wondering whether or not to download it, here is a track listing to further convince you of it's Christmasy goodness:
1 We Wish You A Merry Christmas
2 Please Come Home For Christmas (the one the Eagles did in 1978)
3 Glory To God In The Highest (my own composition)
4 Deck The Halls (With Boughs Of Devo)
5 Angels Foretold This Glorious Thing (another one I wrote)
6 Feliz Navidad
7 The Chipmunk Song (yes.... that one with the Chipmunks!)
8 Mary's Little Boy Child
9 It Came Upon A Midnight Clear (my favorite Christmas song)
10 Away In A Manger (the old medieval version)
11 Angels We Have Heard On High
12 Little Saint Nick (the old Beach Boys classic)
13 He's Santa Claus (And He's Comin' For You) (another one of my originals)
14 Listen The Snow Is Falling (the Yoko Ono song that was on the flipside of John Lennon's Happy Xmas [War Is Over] single)
Well, there you have it. If it turns out that lots of people like it and ask for more, then I might upload another one - my first Christmas CD, Peace On Earth, seen below:
Les Paul died yesterday. In case you don't recognize the name, Les Paul invented the guitar that bears his name, the Les Paul guitar, by Gibson. Les perfected the design that would allow guitars to be amplified without the need for a hollow body to bring out the volume. Be creating a solid-body guitar, gone was the ring and distortion created from trying to amplify an acoustic guitar in live situations, such as concerts. Had he only done this his name would be remembered. But he also perfected sound-on-sound recording techniques, which let to multi-track recording. Something that allowed groups such as The Beatles to flourish in the 1960's and onward. I always respected Les Paul as a guitarist himself and would have to say that the Les Paul guitar is my favorite type of guitar. I've played many of them throughout the years in bands I have been in. My condolences go out to his family at this time of his passing. His memory will live on thanks to his contributions to the field of music. Below you can see an example of my favorite choice of guitar in this group shot of a band I was in: 
Floyd Marcus